U.S. Coast Guard Molokai Light · Photo: Boucher, Jack E. · Public domainKualapuu has 39 miles of mapped trails, 1.3 for every square mile of land
15% of Kualapuu’s land is conserved, about 2,793 acres. 160 acres are parks and preserves, 63 per 1,000 residents. 10% of residents live within a half mile of a park.
Ahead of 77% of U.S. towns · #30 of 93 in Hawaii. What drives it
What kind of outdoors town is Kualapuu?
Read from the map. The page puts what stands out first.
How much outdoors does Kualapuu have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Kualapuu is ahead of 77% of U.S. towns, #30 of 93 in Hawaii. Trail miles hold the grade up; the share of residents near a park pulls it down.
Hawaii towns conserve more land than most (a typical one, 14%; the U.S., 4%), so Kualapuu’s 15% is ahead of 53% of Hawaii towns, while its trails per square mile lead 80% of them.
PAD-US, OpenStreetMap (© OpenStreetMap contributors), Census 2025 Gazetteer and 2020 blocks; details in Sources below. How TownRatings grades the outdoors →
Conserved land, trails & bike routes
Tap a number to zoom to a park. Tap a layer to hide it.
2,793 conserved acres
15% of Kualapuu’s land. Who manages Kualapuu’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
| Parcel (PAD-US) | Managed by | Acres | Public access |
|---|---|---|---|
| Moloka'i Forest Reserve State Conservation Area | State natural resources | 1,500 | Restricted |
| State Department of Land State Resource Management Area State Resource Management Area | State Department of Land | 1,090 | Open |
| Pala'au State Park State Park | State parks | 160 | Open |
| State Department of Natural Resources State Resource Management Area State Resource Management Area | State natural resources | 43 | Open |
12 places to go in Kualapuu
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
2 more peaks
1 picnic area without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see it.
2 named trails and 1 lakes & rivers
0.0 miles of bike routes
Bike lanes are often missing from the map in smaller towns, so that number is likely low.
Includes school and college facilities, which aren’t always open to the public.
1 place on the National Register
The country’s official list of places worth saving (National Park Service).
The best walking months in Kualapuu: April to July
NOAA’s 1991–2020 normals for the town and the daylight at its latitude. Outlined months have long days, highs of 59 to 86 °F and little rain for the place.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Daylight (h) | 11.0 | 11.4 | 12.0 | 12.6 | 13.1 | 13.4 | 13.3 | 12.8 | 12.2 | 11.6 | 11.1 | 10.9 |
| High (°F) | 79 | 79 | 79 | 81 | 83 | 85 | 86 | 87 | 87 | 86 | 83 | 80 |
| Rain (in) | 3.6 | 2.3 | 3.0 | 1.5 | 1.2 | 0.6 | 0.6 | 0.8 | 1.0 | 1.5 | 2.7 | 2.9 |
June is the driest month (0.6 in) and September the warmest (highs of 87 °F). 3.6 inches fall in January, the wettest month. Summer highs reach 87 °F, too hot for the outline. The climate in Kualapuu →
Questions about parks and trails in Kualapuu
How much of Kualapuu is conserved land?
15% of its land, against a typical 14% for a Hawaii town and 4% nationally (PAD-US). Conserved doesn’t always mean open to visitors: easements are usually private land.
Is there public land near Kualapuu?
3,402 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Kualapuu or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 1,293 of them inside the town line.
How much outdoors does Kualapuu have?
Ahead of 77% of U.S. towns on the Outdoors grade, #30 of 93 in Hawaii. The grade combines the share of land that is conserved, miles of mapped trail per square mile of land, park acres per 1,000 residents and the share of residents within a half mile of a park. It’s a character grade, so it isn’t part of the overall grade. How it works.
Trail talk
Conditions, parking and favorite walks from Kualapuu neighbors.
Where this page comes from
Conserved and public land: USGS Protected Areas Database of the United States (PAD-US), service updated July 2026. Parks, trails, playgrounds, beaches and other places: OpenStreetMap (© OpenStreetMap contributors, ODbL), map data as of 2026-10-28. Land and water area: Census 2025 Gazetteer. Residents near a park: 2020 Census blocks. National Register: National Park Service. How TownRatings grades the outdoors →